That’ll Never Be Me: Four of My Favorite Unsung Films About Girls by Alicia Swiz

I am a feminist. I am an educator. I am a girl enthusiast. I am a movie lover. My favorite films are those that embody all three of the aforementioned identities: films that offer an alternative to the dominant narrative (feminism), films that teach you something (education) and films that highlight the stories of girls (enthusiasm!!!). Yes, girls. Not women or ladies or any of the other politically correct monikers for those who identify as female. There is a very particular experience of being a girl in America and while our experiences, cultures and personal identities allow “girl” to mean very different things there remain commonalities between that connects us in this space we call girlhood. And just because you reach a certain age does not always mean you have moved beyond girlhood.

It’s no secret that Hollywood is a depressingly sexist and racist institution that continues to eschew the…